Hi all,
I just purchased the LeLit PL62T HX machine and Eureka Mignon (doserless) grinder. I spent about an hour last night trying to dial in my shots but I am not certain they are coming out right yet, so I want to ask for your feedback.

Here's a recording of the double shot I pulled this morning: I read through Timing of extraction starts when?, where Dan said:

Timing traditionally begins when the brew pressure is applied and the extraction lasts 20-30 seconds. Most commercial espresso machines have rotary pumps and they pressurize nearly instantaneously; the espresso beads on the bottom of the basket in barely 3 seconds. Most home espresso machines have vibe pumps and require 5-7 seconds before the first drops appear on the bottom of the basket.

If it's of any value, in my video you'll notice the shot starts to extract ~9 seconds after I pull the lever (I'm not sure why it takes so long...), giving me an actual extraction time of ~29 seconds (until I stop the pump). It looks to me like the shot starts out well (syrupy) but quickly thins out and turns significantly lighter within 5 seconds; my manometer reads 9 bar all through extraction. I'm using weighing in 15g of coffee (as per the suggestion in the users manual) and the shot I pulled ended up lacking strength (I suppose that's pretty obvious).

So... what should I do? Anything to help me get on the right foot would be greatly appreciated!

First of all, howsit taste?

Secondly, how fresh are your beans (roasted when)?
Thirdly, how is your distribution,? rapid blonding could mean channeling, too coarse grind, old coffee or even other issues.

Lastly, , I'd not get hung up on timing of shots, regard it as a ballpark figure not an absolute measure, weighing your espresso output is far more relevant as measure.

It tasted pretty weak & lacking complexity; the beans were roasted October 11th.

If the puck came out perfectly, could it still be channeling? I'm trying to play it easy by starting with only double shots.

Beans should be OK.
Starting wihh a fixed amount in using doubles is a good strategy I'd say. Have you tried grinding finer? forget the duration for a bit, focus on taste first.
What is your workflow, channeling does not need to show clearly in the puck...perhaps a brief video of your basket prep? Something silly like a tap too many at the wrong point can ruin your prep...

Those shots didn't look too bad at all!!

I would suggest weighing out your end result. With 15 grams you should be looking at a 30g output for a 1:2 ratio.... If it's lacking body and complexity I would suggest dosing more or trying for a smaller ratio (15 grams in 25 grams out... Grind a tad finer and run the shot longer for this). Try 16 grams and keep going up until you find a shot you like. Keep in mind to dial in the shots accordingly.... You will go through a lot of beans dialing in what you like at first, but it's worth it. It is possible that you don't like the beans you're using as well.

+1 weighing your shot. You might simply be pulling it too long if it's weak.

Ellejaycafe wrote: With 15 grams you should be looking at a 30g output for a 1:1 ratio....

Wouldn't that be a 1:2 ratio...15g in:30g out...or is my understanding of the whole ratio thing off?

No you are correct! That was my bad ha

Good morning all!

Thank you so much for your feedback. Despite all that I've read and watched about shot extraction, etc, I realized one crucial error that I was making (subconsciously).

As Ellejaycafe mentioned about weighing my shots, it dawned on me... just for comparison I weighed out 30g of water in my shot glass (it turned out to be ~3/4 full glass -- see my earlier video) and noticed that I was expecting the output of each spout to give me 30g of coffee; whereas I should have been directing both spouts to one shot glass! *doh* I suppose that would explain why the shot tasted really weak.

So- this morning I adjusted my grind finer (it's super clumpy ... not sure if there is any way to really address that?)... but the shot came out so much better tasting and with respect to timing.

Just as an aside in light of my epiphany... it is expected that if someone is using two (1oz) shot glasses on a dual spout PF; then the shot glasses should theoretically be both half full upon completion of the extraction?

track0x1 wrote:Just as an aside in light of my epiphany... it is expected that if someone is using two (1oz) shot glasses on a dual spout PF; then the shot glasses should theoretically be both half full upon completion of the extraction?

Stopping when the shot glasses are half full may be stopping a little short if looking for a 1:2 ratio.

For that ratio, each shot glass should have approximately 15g of espresso in it. For water, 15g would be approximately 1/2 fluid ounce (or half of your 1oz shot glass) but espresso will have a greater volume because of the amount of volume relative to weight taken up by the crema.

Depending on the amount of crema in the cup, you may find that 15g of espresso takes up 3/4 to all of a 1oz shot glass.